NTSB: Rough Track Seen Before Derailment

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, February 12, 2003

The sharp curve near Crescent City, Fla., where the Amtrak Auto Train derailed last April was a troublesome stretch of track that needed frequent repair, federal safety reports show.

After the wreck last April 18, the Auto Train's engineer told investigators he had seen a misalignment of the track just ahead and was trying to apply the brakes when the force of the derailment threw him against the wall. Four passengers were killed and 36 people seriously injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday released investigators' reports that will be analyzed by the agency to try to determine a cause. The reports offered no conclusions. Much of the investigation has focused on the condition of the track, which is owned by the freight railroad CSX Transportation.

A CSX coal train passed over the track just before the Auto Train took the curve, and that crew told NTSB investigators that they noticed no roughness or irregularity.

But the engineer and assistant engineer of Amtrak's Silver Meteor, which passed over the same area a day earlier, said the track "seemed to be out of line" and caused their engine to rock.

"Both crew members indicated that they mentioned it out loud to each other but didn't believe that it was serious enough to report to the train dispatcher," the report said.

CSX employees and Florida rail safety inspectors told the NTSB that the section of track was troublesome because it was built on a steep embankment, and the gravel used for ballast kept sliding away.

Inspections after the accident found sections near the derailment lacking the necessary ballast in the "crib" between ties and along the track's shoulders, the NTSB said. Full crib ballast is needed to keep ties and rails from creeping out of place, the report said.

"Such standards should never be ignored, even for short periods," the report said, because adding more ballast later won't correct the damage already done.

"This could combine with some subsequent condition, such as high rail temperature, to cause excessive rail compression, and a track buckle," the report said.

The ballast at the derailment site was destroyed, so investigators could not determine whether the proper amount had been there. Investigators also reported that some rail anchors and spikes were missing on track near the derailment.

CSX employees had inspected the section of track twice earlier on the day of the accident, and state safety inspectors had checked it just a week and a half before.

Amtrak spokeswoman Karina van Veen also said there was no indication anything was wrong with the track, and the passenger service is awaiting the NTSB's conclusions.

CSX has improved training for employees who maintain and inspect the tracks since the derailment, and is testing laser technology to help identify places that need more ballast, said spokesman Adam Hollingsworth.

The company also reduced train speeds during the summer months in case heat might have contributed to the derailment, he said.

Hollingsworth said safety improvements reduced the number of derailments caused by track problems from 102 in 2001 to 77 last year over CSX's 23,000 miles of track in the Eastern United States.